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Food waste and food insecurity have always been issues impacting our communities, and the COVID-19 pandemic has brought these issues to the forefront. Grocery stories have been hit with supply chain challenges causing increases in food waste. At the same time, many people have been negatively impacted by COVID-19 and we have seen a correlating increase in the demand for food access.
On July 29, PPG members Longo’s and B12Give shared their insights during our monthly Green Economy Webinar. The speakers discussed how businesses are finding ways to mitigate the impact of food waste and insecurity. Longo’s provided a road map on how the company is combating food waste and provided details on their first ever sustainability report. B12Give shared how the current pandemic has amplified the need for food resources and food security across the country, and how they are working to meet that need in local communities.
Additional Resources
- Food Resiliency and Food Waste During COVID-19: PPG has recently published an article on issues related to food resiliency and food waste, with examples of what members of Partners in Project Green are doing to help support food resiliency in our local communities.
- Material Exchange: This PPG program matches companies with other businesses or community groups to rescue unneeded materials. Contact Connie Choy at connie.choy@trca.ca for more details.
- SME Energy Management Consortium: This two-year program is designed to transform SME manufacturers into leaders among their peers in strategic energy management. Participants will have access to a toolkit of resources, direct support from the project leads and a forum where they can learn from other similar-sized local manufacturers.
- People Power Challenge: A turn-key employee engagement program that gives businesses an opportunity to provide sustainability information and activities to employees at home and at the workplace. This engagement program runs from August to October, with each month focusing on a specific theme: low carbon transportation and energy conservation, water stewardship, and waste management.
About the Presenters
Tony Colley
Founder/CEO, B12Give
Tony Colley is a sustainability entrepreneur who developed an app called B12Give, combating food insecurity via the redistribution of surplus unsold prepared food from retail operators. The app works similar to an UberEats style delivery platform, creating a circular food economy rescuing and redistributing food to shelters within the hour of receipt. Tony aims to lower retailers’ carbon footprint by providing healthy, nourishing meals to the estimated 5.6 million Canadians who are currently suffering from food insecurity.
Visit their website www.b12give.ca to learn more about Tony and his mission to close the gap between surplus and access in cities across Canada
Danielle Reid
Sustainability Coordinator, Longo’s
Danielle Reid is Sustainability Coordinator at Longo’s, where her role focuses on sustainability reporting, food waste reduction, and sourcing. Her love of food and disdain of waste have led her to a career devoted to tackling the sustainability challenges in the food industry. Prior to Longo’s, Danielle graduated with a Master of Science in Sustainability Management from the University of Toronto..